Are you flush with Christmas cash? Do the right thing and pay off your credit cards or... invest in the future and blow your load on an original Phil Frost piece of art. Arkitip is selling 100% original creations direct from the artist's Manhattan studio. And best of all, some of the work is Arkitip-exclusive, which means, you're really getting a one-of-a-kind!

Thursday, January 4, 7pm - Free
TEACH-IN/DANCE PARTY at the Knitting Factory

Please note that this event does not take place at Solar One. This event will be held at the Knitting Factory Tap Bar space (second level down from entrance), located at 74 Leonard Street (between Church and Broadway) in Manhattan.

Solar One begins 2007 with a night of DJs, projections, short films, power point performances (including a unique interpretation of The Climate Project's presentation on climate change - yes, a la Al Gore in An Inconvenient Truth - by our very own Chris Neidl), raffles and giveaways, and more! Admission is FREE, with a percentage of bar proceeds to go directly to Solar One. Come ready to learn and with your dancing shoes on!

To get to the Knitting Factory, you can take the 1 train to Franklin Street, walk one block south to Leonard, turn left and walk a block and a half to the club. You can also take the A, C or E train to Canal Street, walk 4 blocks south and turn left on Leonard. Or take the N or R train to Canal Street, walk down Broadway 4 blocks to Leonard, turn right, and see the club at the far end of the block.

Beginning January 4th, 2007, Stephen G. Rhodes will present "Recurrency," a solo exhibition of video, sculpture, photographs and drawings. Like much of his work, Rhodes arrived at "Recurrency" through a twisted breakdown of language- it is a collapse of the word currency, which the artist considers a hallucinatory system, and recurrence, a psycho-analytic term used in discussions of the mechanisms of trauma, a subject regularly explored in his work. The title also alludes to the Ambrose Bierce Civil War story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and in particular the 1962 short film adapted from the same text. Rhodes was first exposed to the film while in grammar school in Louisiana. It was repeatedly screened throughout his time in the school system there, all the way through high school, and each time with little or no discussion conducted by the given instructor. Evidently, the screening of this short film, with a running time of 25 minutes, was a pedagogical tool used to occupy remaining time until the ringing of the school bell.

We spent the whole day with our future-in-law family, the Knutson-Hos in Orange County. Kjartan is the newest and most welcomed addition. If he's anything like his parents, he's going to turn out to be 1) trouble 2) super rad or 3) all of the above!

Twas the end of '06 and the holidays were done, the last fruit cake had been eaten, the last dreidel'd been spun. Kwanzaa feasting has lasted all around the clock and everyone's been wished a blessed Eid Mubarak. With all the festivities ending and New Year's drawing near it's time to cringe, moan & wince - the third Oops is here!

That's right, lads & lassies, the third installation of your favorite trip down memory lane is quickly approaching. At 7pm on January 27th we will again be at Heaven Gallery, spilling our guts as we read our memoirs & share our secrets with a drunk captive audience. The always lovely likes of musicians Angie Ma & Andra Durham will open & at 10 jazz will carry everyone well into the night.

We're on the prowl for SUBMISSIONS! If you (yes! YOU!) would like to read your memoir or share your woefully funny tale of the past with REAL LIVE PEOPLE (or at least as live as hipsters from Wicker Park can be) then send your submission on over to oopsread@gmail.com. Readings should be honest, funny, around 10 minutes long and enjoyable to listen to. Remember: our theme is cringe inducing past experiences, not "How Jimmy learned to ride a bike". Unless Jimmy learned to ride a bike by running over Grandma.

Christmas ain't what it used to be. It's different. It's way more casual and there's less pressure to do anything in particular. We started the day with a screening of Curse of the Golden Flower, then chowed down on Chinese food at Twin Dragon and finished the night at Eva and Dylan's. It was a wonderful Christmas day filled with friends, food, and fun and I wouldn't ask for anything more. Thanks guys!

The 8th annual Polar Bear Club Swim will soon be here. Save the date and plan to ring in the new year with a splash. What better way to start off the year on an adventurous. The event will be on no matter how cold. Hope to see you there!

8th Annual New Year’s Day Swim

What: Polar Bear Swim in Lake Michigan on New Year's Day
When: New Year's Day at 12:00 noon
Where: North Avenue Beach near the boat house (approximately 1600 N)
Why: Carpe Diem!
Cost: FREE!

Ring in the New Year with a splash and set an adventurous tone for the upcoming year.